David Shulman, Dark Hope: Working for Peace in Israel and Palestine. (University of Chicago Press: 2007). <http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=227283>

It is sometimes hard to explain the mix of hope, pain, energy and frustration that I feel as a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in Palestine/Israel. Dark Hope by Iowa-born Israeli David Shulman is a book that might help explain that mix. Shulman participates in Ta'ayush, an Arab/Israeli partnership of on-the-spot, hands-on activists; realistic, practical and committed. They wear sensible shoes and gloves, and carry sliced raw onions to counter the effects of tear-gas.

Shulman has taken his journal of Ta'ayush interventions from 2002 through 2006 and arranged them to tell five stories. The first is a story of the South Hebron Hills. Three other chapters tell stories from East Jerusalem, the northern West Bank, and from villages along the route of the Apartheid Wall. The remaining chapter is "Saying No," about young Israelis making difficult and costly decisions refusing military service or military assignments in occupied territory.

A university literature prof, Shulman enjoys languages and music. He describes the "slow, cumulative and uneven" process by which he became active. He claims "by temperament and belief, I am a moderate." He combines recognition of complexity ("Political activism, in general, is riddled with the ambiguous. Hence the fanaticism . . .") with statements of conviction: "I believe Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory is unacceptable, illegal, and ultimately self-destructive."

In the introduction, Shulman acknowledges that he often wrote his entries in anger, and he does not apologize for this: "I believe that if you were to come with me to Jinba or Nu'aman or Bil'in or Salfit, were you to see what happens daily in such places, you, too, would feel enraged."

In his writing, this anger finds expression mostly in caustic wit. As a CPTer who has served in the South Hebron Hills, I find his accounts accurate. In one scene after another he nails the cooperation between Israeli police and settlers. He meticulously clarifies the racism of Israeli authorities' responses to protesters of different communities, and he says he is glad when a lieutenant colonel objects to being identified as racist.

Many of Shulman's stories involve long walks after police roadblocks stop the vehicles; most of his walks begin by disobeying direct orders, in the company of friends, and in response to invitations from Palestinians. Shulman says, "I want to give you some sense of what it feels like to be a part of this struggle and of why we do it." There are scenes that draw me in to the point of tears. He continues, "I hope and believe that we can still effect a real change." Let's keep trying.

I recommend this book for church libraries and for future CPTers, whether they know they are, or not.

Rich H. Meyer joined Christian Peacemaker Teams in 1997 and served as their Palestine project support coordinator from 2002 through 2007. He says that leading CPT delegations gives him the chance to see the people and the place through new eyes year after year. He is a CPT reservist, with farming, auto mechanics and home repair occupying him the rest of the year. He enjoys leading youth group nonviolence trainings and workshops on conflict skills and strengthening peace convictions.